Biochar Trial on Industrial Hemp. Kunghur NSW. 2014

Biochar trial on Industrial Hemp farm November 2014. Another fantastic Biochar workshop laid out more trials for the ever increasing knowledge base that is Biochar. This workshop was filled with folks that lived outside the box and this trial shows with their initiative.

The location is inside the hill of Abundance garden at Biochar Industries Kunghur NSW. This trial was setup so we can monitor the growth rate of Industrial Hemp Plants and is the first in the series of more than 12 more tests trials.

What makes this so special ? The sheer volume of biochar added in one go to the trial beds. That’s what.

I will attempt to lay out the trials so you may see the variables in the plan and of course as you come back to visit you will be able to see the success.

Firstly we created pre conditioned biochar following the rules of the 5m’s of biochar enrichment set out in David Yarrows work 4 M’s of Biochar with Charmaster Dolph Cooke’s 5th M being adopted by David as well. We allowed this brew to absorb / Adsorb over a 1 week period.

Biochar trial on Industrial Hemp.

The biochar was created in the Moxham unit at Biochar Industries by the previous workshop attendees. Charmaster Dolph Cooke Micronised the raw char via the brickette machine, then submerged it into different vats of different sizes containing the Minerals and Moisture so that the Biochar could adsorb / Absorb as much as it could.

100 litres Biochar

50 litres Biochar

25 litres Biochar

12.5 litres Biochar

100 liters water

50 liters water

25 liters water

12.5 liters water

10 litres Gypsum

5 litres Gypsum

2.5 litres Gypsum

1.25 litres Gypsum

200g Silica

100g Silica

50g Silica

25g Silica

10 Litres Wood Vinegar

5 Litres Wood Vinegar

2.5 Litres Wood Vinegar

1.25 Litres Wood Vinegar

20 litres Humified Compost mixed in on application

10 litres Humified Compost mixed in on application

5 litres Humified Compost mixed in on application

2.5 litres Humified Compost mixed in on application

1.25 litres of Fish Amino Acids. Home made Biofert.

625 mls of Fish Amino Acids. Home made Biofert.

312.5 mls of Fish Amino Acids. Home made Biofert.

156.25 mls of Fish Amino Acids. Home made Biofert.

The biochar soaked up the nutrients over a period of 1 week. Just before we applied the biochar we added the humified compost for microbial inoculation to take place.

Prior to the trial we spent a half day digging and double digging the beds that have had a years rest from last summers sunflower crop.

We took a soil Ph test prior to applying the biochar and one after. The following table shows the differences.

Ph before

Ph After

Ph Control

Plot A. 100L / m2 Ph 5.0

Plot A. 100L / m2 Ph 4.5

Plot C1 Ph 5.0

Plot B. 50L / m2 Ph 5.0

Plot B. 50L / m2 Ph 5.5

Plot C2 Ph 5.0

Plot C. 25L / m2 Ph 5.0

Plot C. 25L / m2 Ph 4.5

Plot C3 Ph 5.0

Plot D. 12.5L / m2 Ph 5.0

Plot D. 12.5L / m2 Ph 5.0

Plot C4 Ph 5.0

We now have left the trial plots to Mature as per the 5th M. and will take another Ph test prior to planting the new Industrial Hemp Seedlings and seeds. In these trials we will be planting both seeds (to take into account germination rates) and seedlings (so we can watch growth progress).

The Industrial hemp is day light sensitive and we are about to plant just prior to the solstice which will give us flowers and seeds rather than vegetative quantity. This trial is partly about creating the most seeds per plant for regenerative forestry planting for 2015. The other part of the trial is to see weather the very high end of the scale of biochar content has any effect on normal growth.

Biochar trial on Industrial Hemp. With biochar concentrations like “terra preta de índio” or 500t p/hectare.

We are setting up brinno waterproof time lapse cameras to record the entire growth season of these trials. We are also going to compare yields from these trials to that of the Industrial hemp that is already growing elsewhere in the hill of abundance. To see if these high levels of biochar soil amendments really preform.